London

Doctors should be forced by law to report FGM says Mayor

City Hall is hosting an event today calling on the UK and other governments to take a more serious approach to prosecuting those guilty of inflicting or assisting to inflict the genital mutilation of girls.

The World Health Organisation describe female genital mutilation (FGM) as "procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons"

The government says FGM is usually carried out on girls between infancy and age 15, with the majority of cases occurring between the ages of 5 and 8 years.

Because of the hidden nature of the crime, it is difficult to estimate FGM's prevalence, but a study based on 2001 census data in England and Wales estimated that 23,000 girls under the age of 15 could be at risk of FGM each year; and nearly 66,000 women are living with its consequences.